Focus on Seed Programs The Seed Industry in Oman - SeedQuest

<strong>Focus</strong> on Seed Programs 

The Seed Industry in Oman 

Ali Hussein Al-Lawati and Saleem K.Nadaf, 

Agricultural Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture 

and Fisheries, P.O. Box 50 Seeb, Post Code 121, 

Rumais, Oman 

Introduction 

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the 

eastern corner of the Arabian 

peninsula, stretching more than 

1700km from the Strait of Hormuz in the 

north to the frontiers of Yemen in the south. 

The Musandam Peninsula, the most 

northern point of Oman is separated from 

the rest of the country by Fujaira, which is 

one of the United Arab Emirates. 

The country is located between latitudes 

16 o 40 ' N and 26 o 20 ' N and longitude 51 o E 

and 59 o 40 ' E. The total area is 30 million ha 

of which mountains, deserts and coastal 

plains occupy 4.5 (16%), 24.6 (81%) and 

0.9 (3%) million ha, respectively. 

The climate varies from arid in the interior 

regions, to humid in coastal areas to tropical 

in the southern parts of the country with the 

temperature range from below zero (in 

Jebel Akdar and Jebel Shams) to 50 o C in 

the summer. The rainfall is erratic without 

any specific rainy season except in Dhofar 

region where there is heavy rainfall during 

kharif (July-September) period. Elsewhere 

rain mostly falls between November and 

February. The average annual rainfall is 

about 100 mm. 

Agriculture plays an important role in the 

economy. The total cultivated area is about 

73,415 ha of which 60% is located in the 

coastal areas. The major crops grown are 

fruit trees (date, lime, mango, banana), 

vegetables (cucurbits, garlic, onion, tomato, 

watermelon) and field crops (wheat, barley, 

maize, sorghum, cowpea, alfalfa, Rhodes 

grass). However, date palms occupy the 

largest area. 

Agricultural crops are grown mostly in 

Al'Dakhliya, Al'Dhahira, Sharquiya, 

Musandam and on a limited scale in the 

southern part of Dhofar region. All crops 

are irrigated except in Musandam region 

where rainfed crops are grown. Irrigation is 

either by flood, drip or sprinklers. 

Irrigation from ground water, particularly 

on the coastal plain, has led to the build-up 

of salts in some areas. Efforts are being 

made to overcome the problem of salinity 

through appropriate irrigation and 

drainage practices to avoid further damage 

to the environment. There is a growing 

interest in testing salt tolerant crops and 

varieties. 

Wheat and barley are grown mainly in 

Al'Dakhliya, Al’Dhahira and Sharquiya 

<strong>Focus</strong> on Seed Programs Oman: 2001

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regions under irrigated condition and on a 

small scale in Musandam area under rainfed 

condition. Moreover, barley is also grown 

for fodder as pure stands or as mixture with 

alfalfa throughout the country. 

In the Batinah region, farmers grow mostly 

fruit trees, vegetables and fodder crops such 

as alfalfa and Rhodes grass. In Dhofar 

region, apart from fruit trees, vegetables 

and fodder crops are also grown along the 

coast. The major field crops grown in 

Sultanate of Oman are indicated in Table 1. 

Table 1. List of major crops grown in 

Sultanate of Oman 

___________________________________ 

Cereals 

Legumes 

Oilseeds 

Fodder grasses 

Fodder legumes 

Fiber crops 

Sugar crops 

Wheat, Barley, Sorghum 

Chickpea, Mung bean, 

Lentil, Faba bean, 

Pigeon pea 

Groundnut, Sesame, 

Safflower, Sunflower 

Maize, Sorghum, Pearl 

millet, Rhodes grass, 

Elephant grass 

Lucerne, Lablab, 

Cowpea 

Cotton 

Sugarcane 

Stimulants Tobacco 

___________________________________ 

New crops such as mung bean, sunflower, 

buffel grass, green panic, signal grass, 

Sudan grass and Siratro have been 

introduced to test their adaptation to Omani 

conditions. 

The estimated area and production of 

different crops (grain and fodder) during 

1999 is given in Table 2. 

Table 2. Area and crop production in 

Sultanate of Oman 

___________________________________ 

Crops Area Production 

(ha) ('000 tonnes) 

___________________________________ 

Wheat 325 1.00 

Barley 1,285 3.79 

Sorghum 3201 14.7 

Sugarcane 109 1.00 

Others 1,692 4.90 

Alfalfa 11,321 472.15 

Rhodes grass 6492 275.29 

Elephant grass 2949 13.72 

___________________________________ 

National Seed Policy and Laws 

The National Seed Policy and 

regulatory framework is being 

under development as a 

constituent/chapter of Agricultural law 

pertinent to regulations for varieties, 

quality control, certification and seed 

trade, which will be enacted by the Royal 

Decree. This Royal Decree on Agriculture 

will replace all the previous laws 

concerning similar aspects on agriculture. 

In October 2000, the Royal Decree No. 

92/2000 issued the plant variety protection 

law. The decree contains two chapters and 

24 articles. The implementing regulation 

of the law will cover the following 

aspects: general provisions, conditions of 

the breeder’s rights, scope of protection, 

transfer and loss of rights, joint ownership 

of certificates, filing of applications for 

plant variety certificates, prosecution of 

applications for plant variety certificates, 

issue of plant variety certificates and legal 

proceedings. The PVP executive 

regulations have been already finalized 

which will be published in the near future. 


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The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 

(MAF) would be responsible to enforce 

PVP law. 

Agricultural Research 

In the 1970s and 1980s agricultural 

research on wheat, barley and other 

field crops was carried out at Wadi 

Quriyat agricultural research station in the 

interior region of the country. At present 

major research on field crops are conducted 

in six stations based at Al-Kamil, Jimah, 

Nejid, Rumais, Salalah and Sohar. The 

research stations at Al-Kamil, Jimah and 

Salalah deal with grain, fodder and fruit 

crops whereas the stations at Nejid, Rumais 

and Sohar deal with fodder and fruit crops. 

The agricultural research includes variety 

development, evaluation and agronomic 

management. The plant protection units 

conduct research on diseases and pests. 

Several results have been obtained in 

different aspects of crop production. Since 

1999, the Director General of Agriculture 

and Assistant Director General for 

Agricultural Research and Extension are 

responsible for the activities of agriculture 

research. 

Genetic Resources Conservation 

The germplasm of local landraces has been 

collected in collaboration with IPGRI and 

ICARDA and stored in Oman and stored at 

ICARDA gene bank. Moreover, wild 

relatives of wheat and barley were also 

collected from the mountain regions to 

study the origin and distribution of these 

crops in the Arabian Peninsula. 

Variety Development 

For wheat, barley and chickpea 

international nurseries or regional trials are 

received from ICARDA and ACSAD 

whereas for other crops such as vegetables, 

annual and perennial forage grasses and 

legumes, fodder beet, Atriplex spp, etc. are 

received from seed companies in Australia, 

Holland, India, USA, etc. At present wheat, 

barley and chickpea crosses for disease 

resistance are obtained from international 

nurseries supplied by ICARDA and from 

organizations such as ICRISAT for crops 

such as groundnut, forage sorghum and 

pearl millet etc. The introduced lines are 

tested for three years at research stations 

and selected for high yields and other 

desirable agronomic characters. The 

selected lines are further tested for one year 

in larger plots on farmers' fields, which 

forms the basis for final selection and 

release of the variety. 

The high yielding elite genotypes are 

recommended for release based on the 

recommendation of field crop scientists 

who are involved in carrying out variety 

performance trails in different locations and 

years at research stations and farmers’ 

fields. The list of recommended crop 

varieties is given in Table 3. In the future 

the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 

(MAF) would be responsible to enforce 

PVP law and carrying out DUS tests. 

However, quite a large crop area is under 

local landraces. The wheat landraces are 

Cooley (covers 80% of local area), Sarraya, 

Missain, Hamira and Walidi. The barley 

landraces are named after the area in which 

they are grown and known as Al'Dakhliya, 

Sharquiya, Bathini and Duraqui 

(Musandam area). Many local landraces are 

also available for crops such as chickpea 

(Omani), cowpea (Omani, Dhofari), 

sorghum (Omani, Rustaqui) and alfalfa 

(Omani, Bathini, Dhofari, Sharqui, 

Quiyahi). 


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Table 3. List of recommended crop varieties 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Crops 

Varieties 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Wheat 

Mexipak, Sannine, WQS151, WQS160, WQS302, WQS305, WQS308, 

Jimah1, Jimah2, Jimah 101, Jimah 102, Jimah 103, Jimah 107, Jimah 

110, Jimah 125, Jimah 132 

Barley Beecher, Jimahh5, Jimah6, Jimah 51, Jimah 53, Jimah 54, Jimah 58, 

Jimah 98, Jimah 136 

Cowpea Jimah 2, Jimah3, Jimah 4 

Chickpea ILC237, Jimah7, Jimah8, Jimah 1, Jimah 2, Jimah 17, Jimah 18 

Dry peas 

ARC-2 (Rumais2), ARC-3 (Rumais3), ARC-4 (Rumais4), ARC-5 

(Rumais5), (ARC-6 (Rumais6), ARC-7 (Rumais7) 

Mungbean PS-16, Sona, PDM 84-13 

Sesame Giza 23 

Safflower A-300, A-1 

Sunflower 

Maize 

Turkey-79, Miak 

Giza2, Katamani503, Hybrid 622, Irat8, Sohar1, Sohar2, Rumais 

Composite 1, Rumais Composite 2, Rumais Composite 3 

Sorghum Sugar drip, Honey drop, Fs x Dekalb 17 

Fodder Oats 

Rhodes grass 

Alfalfa 

Marloo, ARC-1 (Rumais1) 

Callide, Katamboa, Samford, Elamba, Boma, Pioneer 

ADLL 6725, CUF 101, Cundor, DK 187, Maxidor, Sequel 

Fodder beet Peramono,Petra,Anissa 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Wheat and barley are major field crops 

where a substantial number of improved 


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varieties have been released. The details of 

wheat and barley varieties grown are given 

in Table 4. 

Table 4. Characteristics of released wheat and barley varieties 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Varieties Source Year Yield 

Released 

(t/ha) 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

Wheat 

Mexipak Pakistan 1972 2.1 

Sannine Lebanon 1974 3.2 

WQS160 ICARDA 1985/86 3.2 

WQS151 ICARDA 1985/86 2.9 

WQS308 CIMMYT/ICARDA 1992/93 3.1 

WQS305 CIMMYT/ICARDA 1993/94 3.5 

Jimah1 1 CIMMYTT/ICARDA 1996/97 3.0 

Jimah2 1 CIMMYT/ICARDA 1996/97 3.9 

Jimah 101 CIMMYT/ICARDA 1997/98 3.25 







Barley 

Beecher ICARDA 1974 3.9 2 

Jimah 6 1 ICARDA 1992-93 3.8 

Jimah 51 ICARDA 1993-94 4.1 

Jimah 53 ICARDA 1993-94 3.3 

Jimah 54 ICARDA 1993-94 4.0 

Jimah 58 ICARDA 1993-94 3.3 

Jimah 98 ICARDA 1999-2000 4.6 

Jimah 136 ICARDA 1999-2000 4.5 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

1 Recommended but still not grown by farmers; 2 Green fodder yield is 25.3 t/ha 

Agronomic Research 

In Oman there are two cropping seasons: 

winter and summer. Winter crops are 

planted in October or November and 

include wheat, barley, maize, rye, oats, pea, 

chickpea, alfalfa and Rhodes grass. The 

summer crops are planted in March-April 

and include sorghum, millets, cowpea, 


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sesame, maize (fodder), alfalfa and Rhodes 

grass. 

Agronomic practices were identified and 

recommended for all major crops. The seed 

and fertilizer rate and expected grain yield 

are given in Table 5. Although all crops are 

grown under irrigated conditions the yield 

level is low due to unfavorable climatic 

conditions. 

Table 5. Agronomic practices recommended for field crops 

Crop Seed rate Fertilzer 1 Yield 

kg/ha (N-P-K) kg ha -1 

Wheat 100-25 150-90-60 2500-3000 

Barley 100-25 100-90-60 2500-4000 

Maize 35-50 2 200-100-50 2500-4000 

Sorghum 30-40 2 150-100-50 2500-3000 

Cowpea 100-25 100-100-50 1000-2500 

Chickpea 3 75-100 100-100-50 1500-2000 

Dry pea 3 80-120 100-100-50 1500-2000 

Sesame 6-10 100-100-50 700-1500 

Alfalfa 25-30 200-120-250 150-175 4 

Rhodes grass 10-12 1200-150-150 100-125 4 

Oats (fodder) 100-125 100-90-60 1000-1500 

Note: 1 P and K are applied at sowing time whereas N is applied at planting and as split [4 splits (wheat, barley, 

oats); 3 splits (sorghum, maize); 2 splits (chickpea, cowpea, dry pea, sesame); 1/10 after each cut (alfalfa, Rhodes)]; 

2 For fodder seed rate is 75-90kgha -1 for maize and 50-70kgha -1 for sorghum; 3 Chickpea and dry pea are not 

inoculated and no bacterial nodules present in the soil, so higher doses of N are used; 4 Green fodder yield in tonnes. 

Seed Production and Supply 

In Sultanate of Oman the national seed 

program is still at an early stage of 

development. Seed production was 

started in 1979 under the direct supervision 

of agricultural research stations and 

restricted to Al'Dakhliya area. However, the 

program was later expanded to cover 

Al'Sharqiya and Al'Dharhira and become 

under the direct supervision of the 

extension service. 

The Government undertakes the 

responsibility of seed production, 

particularly of some important crops such 

as wheat and barley. Breeder (by ear to row 

method) and foundation seed of 

recommended varieties are maintained and 

multiplied at regional agricultural research 

centers, under the supervision of crop 

scientists. 

The foundation seed is supplied to the 


7 

agricultural extension service, which 

produce certified seed of wheat and barley 

on contractual agreement with farmers. The 

seed of other crops is multiplied on limited 

scale at agricultural research stations. The 

seed is produced under the direct 

supervision of the extension service, but a 

research-extension committee oversees the 

program. The area planted for seed 

production during the last three years is 

presented in Table 6. 

The extension service is responsible for 

selection of contract farmers; provision of 

seed, fertilizers, plant protection services; 

technical backstopping and supervision; 

and financial support for roguing seed 

crops. It also provides gunny bags and 

purchase seed at premium price, treat and 

store until distribution. The farmer provides 

the land and irrigation and is responsible for 

general cultivation and harvesting of seed 

crops. 

Table 6. Area and production of certified seed in Oman 

Region Crops Area (feddans)/ 1998/9 1999/0 2000/1 2001/2 

Production (tonnes) 

Al-Dakhliya Wheat Area (f) 61 61 62 58 

Production (t) 61 61 74.4 75.4 

Barley Area (f) 7 7 13 14 

Production (t) 5.6 5.6 20.8 22.4 

Al- Dhahira Wheat Area (f) 38 38 41 45 


Barley Area (f 7 7 9 13 

Production (t) 5.6 5.6 14.4 20.8 

Al-Sharqiya Wheat Area (f) 34 33 32 9 


Barley Area (f) 3 3 7.5 6 

Production (t) 4.8 4.8 12 9.6 

Batinah Wheat Area (f) 33 22 23 28 


Barley Area (f) - - - 3 

Production (t) - - - 4.8 

Muscat Wheat Area (f) 2 2 - - 

Production (t) 2 2 - - 


Musandam 

Barley 

Wheat 

Barley 

8 

Area (f) - - - 1.5 

Production (t) - - - 2.4 

Area (f) 2 25 25 20 

Production (t) 2 25 25 20 

Area (f) - - - 2.5 

Production (t) - - - 4 

Most farmers produce their own alfalfa 

seed. Generally seed is harvested from 

alfalfa crop of 4-5 years. This practice of 

harvesting seed from old stands applies a 

strong selection pressure in favor of those 

plants which have survived several years 

of cutting. It will tend to ensure that these 

important 'survival' characteristics are 

preserved and enhanced in successive 

multiplication. This may explain in part 

the widespread reputation of the alfalfa 

variety known as 'Omani' in the region. 

For vegetables, there is no local seed 

production program either by the 

Government or private sector. Several 

international seed companies have branches 

in the country in association with local seed 

companies or agents. These companies 

import seed of promising varieties from 

USA, Australia, Arab, Asian, African and 

European countries and supply the seed 

directly to the farmers or through the 

Government. However, some farmers 

produce the seeds of local cultivars of 

vegetables like onion, garlic, carrot, 

cucumber, musk melon and sweet potato. 

and Nizwa of the Ministry of Agriculture 

and Fisheries under the supervision of 

Director Generals of the regions. The seed 

is distributed free of cost to farmers for 

general cultivation. 

Seed Marketing and Distribution 

Wheat and barley seed is 

distributed to interested farmers 

free of cost while in other crops 

like vegetables, perennial forages, etc. 

farmers purchase the seed from various 

companies that import seed for sale. 

Besides some farmers sell their own seed of 

Seed Processing and Storage 

Seed processing is carried out by the 

agricultural extension services in 

different locations with the limited 

facilities available. After cleaning seed is 

bagged in new bags provided by the 

extension service where the variety name 

and the quantity are indicated. The seed is 

fumigated and stored in temporary storage 

at the regional offices at Dhahira, Ibra, Ibri 


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Constraints in the Seed Sector 

The Ministry of Agriculture and 

Fisheries are strengthening the 

national seed sector to overcome 

some major constraints such as shortage of 

trained local personnel and seed policy. 

The Government undertakes seed 

production of important field crops such as 

wheat and barley on a limited scale. The 

farmers produce their own seed for crops 

such as chickpea, cow pea alfalfa, 

sorghum, etc. For example, farmers produce 

seed of local varieties of alfalfa from old 

stands (>5 years) just by skipping cutting in 

early/late winter and harvesting seed when 

the crop is mature. 

Since there is no local seed production for 

vegetable crops and the country is entirely 

dependent on import. The private seed 

agencies sell imported seed at fairly high 

prices. Furthermore, there are no local 

companies coming forward to invest in seed 

production of indigenous popular cultivars 

of different crops such as alfalfa, vegetables 

(garlic, onion, carrot, cucumber, musk 

melon, sweet potato etc.) to expand the area 

in these crops. 

Recommendations for the Seed 

Sector 

The development of seed industry 

should be a priority for the progress 

of agriculture in the country. At 

present there is limited supply of seed of 

agricultural crops and vegetables, 

respectively by the extension service and 

the private seed companies. There is strong 

need to develop local capacity for 

production and supply of quality seed in the 

country for all the major crops grown by the 

farmers. In the years to come, seed supply 

could assume greater importance and the 

seed demand expected to continue 

increasing for commercial crop production. 

A concerted effort to strengthen national 

seed program would help to (a) increase 

agricultural production through adoption of 

improved varieties and use of quality seed, 

(b) enhance systematic and rapid 

multiplication of seed of new varieties, (c) 

facilitate timely supply of seed to the 

farmers, and (d) facilitate seed supply at a 

reasonable price. 

The human resource development, 

upgrading the skill and knowledge of both 

professional and technical staff through inservice 

training or post-graduate studies in 

seed technology in collaboration with the 

International Center for Agricultural 

Research in the Dry Areas (WANA Seed 

Network) or through other international 

organizations is very essential. These 

would help to develop the agriculture of 

the country and to achieve self-sufficiency 

in food crops such as wheat by exploiting 

the potential of modern agriculture. 

‘<strong>Focus</strong> on Seed Programs’ is a series of country reports published 

by the WANA Seed Network Secretariat, Seed Unit, ICARDA, P.O. 

Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria; Tel: ++963-2213433; Fax: ++963-21- 

2213490; E-mail: Z.Bishaw@cgiar.org

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